Sleeping with the Light On
by Blooming Sun
Summary: What ever happened to the gang at Twilight Town after Roxas left? HaynerxOlette. [a bit FuuxSeifer] T for Language.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Don't own KH, wish I did, etc etc

_I wonder what happened to Twilight Town and the gang after KH2, so hence,I have decided to write about it. Hopefully I won't make a complete and total mess out of it. This part is writtenfrom Hayner'sPOV,almost in the same style as my Hay/Oletteone shot. I'm thinking abouteither a) going to normal/general point of view, b) keeping it in Hayner's, or c) switching between Hayner's, Pence's, and Olette's views. I'd love to hearopinions about that. So...yeah. :) Oh, andI never fully realized this from KH2, but the world withRoxas isn'ta real world at all, just a digital worldthatwas madeup from the real Twilight Town. HOWEVER, the real TwilightTown is no fun ifthere was no Roxas, so, for the sake of the story, I'm going to just pretend that thedigital world...is the real one! ...Hope that makes sense. :)Enjoy!_

_..Sunny_

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**S**_l_ee**p**i_n_g **_wit_**h _t_h**e** Lig**h**t O_n_

We're at the Usual Spot. Then again, where else wouldWe be? Getting ice cream? Riding the trolley? Getting our asses kicked by Seifer and his gang? Well. Olette wouldn't be getting her ass kicked. She might hide around the corner and wait until we finally stumble around the corner, give us a lecture, and then start bandaging us up. I don't know why she does that. The bandaging up, I mean. Ha...we all know why she gives the lectures...you can even tell what kind of thing she's going to rant on about, if you just look at her face. When she starts pointing her finger at you, but her mouth is twisted up strange and her voice sounds funny, you can tell she's sad or worried about you, and her heart isn't really in the lecture (the common after-being-crushed-by-Seifer anecdote). When she starts waving her arms around...well...that's the time to conveniently disappear.

Pence. "So what do you guys want to do?" He's licking one of those sea salt ice cream things. I want one. Bet you a dime he doesn't have any.

Olette. "Hello! I'm a girl, why don't you guys respect that?"

Shrug.

_Well Olette, you're practically one of us guys anyway._

Olette pouts. "Thanks a lot, Hayner." She's sticking her tongue out at me. She thinks that it'll bother me. It doesn't. Girls never know that it's sort of cute when they do that. Sort of annoying too. Hard to decide. Best not to waste time thinking about it.

Pence. "Where's Roxas when you need him." He sighs and props his feet up on one of the boxes. "Maybe we should go get a job."

Laugh.

_You're joking. We should spent Saturday posting up posters for Mr. Husani again?_

Olette. She looks sort of angry. "What do you guys have against Mr. Husani? He's an old man, you guys shouldn't be so mean to him."

Pence. "He's nice to you! He always underpays us."

_Yeah, Olette. It's cuz you're a girl._

Olette. Looks smug. But still angry. "Oh, so now I'm a girl?"

_Sorry Olette._

She doesn't look so upset any more. That's good. Wouldn't want to hurt Olette. Roxas never hurt Olette. Shit...

Olette. "So if we're not going to geta job, then what are we going to do?"

Trust Olette to be the one to get back on track. It's good she's here. Otherwise we'd never do anything. And fail school. We'd probably be dead by now. Pence is thinking. You can tell. Because his ice cream is starting to melt and drip over his hand. Olette's got that one smile. The one where you're trying to hold in your laughter, on the verge of letting it out. You know the feeling.

Pence. He suddenly jumps to his feet. Waves his hand around. "Aaah! Olette! Hayner! Help, it's all over my hand! Aah! It's dripping!"

Olette. She laughs, holding her hands to her stomach. Pence made her laugh. Damnit.

_Pence, over here. I'll dry it of for you._ I know there's a rag around here somewhere. Ever notice how you can never find anything when you need it? Well...it happens to ME all the time...

Pence. "Thanks Hayner."

Shrug.

Olette. Smiles at me. Funny feeling. But it's nothing. Really. Nothing.That smile didn't mean anything.She has another kind of smile.A really nice one. She used to smile like that at the guy who worked at the merchandise store. Then she smiled at Roxas like that a few times. She even smiled at that one guy, Sora once. And last week, when she was talking to Pence, but of course not me---...right right. There's somethin to do.

_Guys...oh...sorry Olette. Pence, Olette, wanna go check out that freaky mansion again?_

Olette. "We did that for our summer project, remember? We don't neeed to go there again...do we?" Looks a little scared. Ha. Olette. Scared. What a joke.

Pence. Grins. "I'd like to go again."

Pick up a rubber ball. Throw it against the wall. Catch it. Throw it again. _Thwpp. Thwpp. Thwpp._

_Come on Olette, you sure you don't wanna come with? It'll be fuuunnnn. Maybe we'll even get ice cream after._

Olette. "I don't know..."

_If you come, I'll do my own homework for a week, I promise._

Olette. Laughs. Almost as good as the laugh Pence got. But mine's better. After she stops, she's smiling. At me. "Alright, alright, I'll go too. Might as well get my notebook, in case we'll have to do another project.

I'm going to say something. But Pence says it first. "Come on Olette, for once, don't worry about school and just have fun."

Olette looks annoyed. I'm glad Pence said it. "Fine. Let's go."

We skateboarded through town. Well. I skateboarded through town. Pence and Olette had roller blades. What a pain. All the velcro strapping. Besides. ... I'll come up with another reason. I know. Seifer's not looking. Better go through the Sandlot faster. But Rai and Fuu are looking. I can never hear what Fuu says. Not like I want to anyway. I don't think she likes me very much.

Rai. Yelling after me. "Yo Hayner! Better get back here, or Seifer will crush you, ya know?" Better go back. I bet he's not joking. Pence and Olette. They're at the other side of the square. Olette starts coming closer. She better not. She'll get hurt. Pence pulls her back. Good job Pence. Seifer. He doesn't look angry. Fuu actually has an expression on her face. Too bad I can't tell what it is because it looks almost exactly like the one she always has. Almost. Rai. Standing behind Seifer. He's got that look of a bouncer. Or a bodyguard. Neither of which would be good in this case.

Seifer. Maybe...sad. Pity? Or maybe it's just his normal expression. Not the I'll-beat-you-to-a-pulp one I always see. Better not mention that at the moment. "Hey Hayner. What's up?"

Be careful. Act normal. His club is right there. _Not much. Just going into the shopping district, maybe Tram Common. _

Seifer. "You seen your buddy Roxas lately?"

Does he want to bust Roxas's ass? _...No...I'm afraid not. His friend...his friend says he might come back. Some day._

"Oh, tha's too bad. Sorry for your loss; Roxas really wasn't so bad."

_Oh...it's, uh, yeah...we're okay. _

"You gonna be at the Struggle next year, right?"

_Yeah, of course._

"Looks like the real competition'll just be you 'n' me. Better start training. See ya around." They turn away.

Obviously, they're done talking to me. Pence and Olette. Pence's mouth is open. He looks like a fish when he does that. Olette. She looks really excited. She waves. I tilt my head in the direction of the shopping district. Time to go to the Mansion. Ha. Maybe we'll see Roxas there. Bet he'd love to hear about what Seifer said. What Seifer said...just me and Seifer. Last year I didn't even make it to the final round; Roxas beat me. This time I'll make it, I know, and I'll face Seifer. No more Roxas...I'll win.

I'd rather lose the tournament.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Don't own KH, wish I did, etc etc

_Hopefully, you did in fact **read the message from before**. Hehe. :) Anyway. I was thiking about splitting this story into **two parts**. That means that one part (Sleeping with the Light On) will take place in the **digital world**, the one that Roxas existed in. The other part, (Sleeping with the Light **Off**) will be the real Twilight Town, the one where Riku ("Ansem"), Ansem the Wise (DiZ), and Sora were in. Both parts of the story take place soon after Roxas "vanishes" from Twilight Town and Sora finds himself after waking up and he **leaves** Twilight Town. Now this will be pretty confusing, but I'm just trying to make the story more interesting. I really **need to hear your ideas about this**, so please either review, send me a personal message, whatever, but I'd love to hear your opinions, not sure where I wanna go with this yet. Should I do the two-worlder I mentioned above,keep it fluffy yet serious, make it more fluffy, make it more serious, just, yeah, whatwouldyou like to read the most:) Of course, **I** still get to make the main choice (mwahaha), but really, I do want to know what you think._

_..Sunny_

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**S**_l_ee**p**i_n_g **_wit_**h _t_h**e** Lig**h**t O_n_

We're at that mansion now. You would think it looks the same. It doesn't. It looks...empty. The hedges inside are growing out of shape. Vines are creeping up the walls. Like no one's in there any more. I mean. Not that there ever was. 'Cept for the ghost girl. But even she's not there any more. Roxas said something to me once. Said he saw her, up there in the window. Said he talked to her. I thought he was crazy. But maybe. Maybe he wasn't. The curtain is pulled back now. Used to cover up the window. You can see inside. There are some papers hanging up in there. Wonder what they are. But I'll never know. Pence would never break the rules and gone in there. Olette? ... Maybe. She surprises me. A lot. But I'll never tell her that. Nobody surprises Hayner.

Olette. To the left. I don't look at her. "Wow. It looks so different."

Pence. Between us. Out of the corner of my eye, seem him to turn to her, gesture with his hands. "What are you talking about, Olette?" He turns back. "It's the same place."

_You don't see it Pence? Doesn't look like there's anything missing?_

Pence. Shrugs. "Well. Maybe a little, Hayner. This place gives me the creeps." Starts wandering off. Don't know what he means by that. It's nice here. Like this place isn't affected by everything else going on. Wonder if Seifer knows it's here. Wonder if Seifer would even give a damn. Probably not. There's somethin weird bout this place, I'll give him that. But...still...what about that photo we all took here, so long ago? With Roxas, ya know...ha. Listen to me. I'm gonna start soundin like Rai if I'm not careful.

Olette. "Hayner?" Her voice is closer now, softer. She's behind me, near, I can feel it. But I don't look at her. Why? Because I'm a moron, that's way. I just keep lookin at that stupid mansion.

_Yeah Olette?_

Olette again. "Do you..." She trails off. I saw something. Maybe she saw it too. That flicker of white in the window. Or maybe. It's just what I wanna see. Cuz maybe, if **I** see it, then maybe, Roxas will have to be here, and **he'll** have ta see it too, cuz Roxas notices things that we don't see. Or if I see it, then maybe Olette'll see it. And then we can talk about it. Together. Somethin we saw together, without Pence, or Roxas. Or I didn't see anything at all, and I was just imagined it.

"Do you," she starts again,"think that things will ever be the same again?"

I don't know Olette, I really don't. It's like we're a cart that's suddenly lost a wheel. 'Course we keep moving along, but it's so much harder without that fourth wheel, cuz we came to depend on that wheel, to really like that wheel, and we want to know what happened to that wheel.

But, 'course, I don't say that. Why?Look, I've answered this question before, cuz I'm a moron.

_Everything's gonna be fine, Olette. We'll be okay, don't worry._

She smiles, but there's something in her face, I know, I can see it. And I get that feeling, that I shoulda said what I'd been thinkin, because that would've made her look at me different. You know. Like I was smart, wasn't just bragging and trying to keep my cool, like I was caring, or somethin. That woulda made me seem, well, a little weak. But it's Olette. She wouldn't have seen it that way. Maybe I could say it now. Yeah I will, there's still time, it's only been a few moments, I can do it, I will, I'm going to, I know.

Pence. "Hayner, Olette. It's getting late; we should start back if we want to make it in time." Damn. She's already walking away. Shit, Pence, why can't you just stand still for a minute. Not like I should be talking. They're already walking away, we left our skate stuff at the bottom of the hill with Julian. I can't go away. Not yet. I keep looking at that mansion. I'm not as smart as Olette, or even Pence, I know. But maybe I'm smart at other things. Like how I know Olette's face so well, or the crazy things Pence does. Or how I know, somehow I know, that this place...this freaky old place has somethin to do with Roxas. And that Sora guy. He looked so familiar...

Olette. "Hayner! Come on, we're waiting for you!" If it was anybody else, I would've ignored them. But Olette's calling me. I like the way she says my name. But I won't tell her that. Who knows what she'd do.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Don't own KH, wish I did, etc etc

_Well no one really responded to my other message but that's okay. I'll just keep going like this. :)_

_..Sunny_

* * *

**S**_l_ee**p**i_n_g **_wit_**h _t_h**e** Lig**h**t O_n_

Waking up here is...different. Different than what? I don't know, really. It's just...different. Visitors think that this place has always got that organish, sweet glow. Orange. Reminds me of Olette. That's her color. Everything always reminds me of Olette...but really, the town, this town. In the morning it's this clear color. If that can be a color. The light through the windows. It's white. Clean. Nice. And the air is crisp. And cool. As the day goes on, gets warmer. But that's nice too. Then the calm glow comes up. And at night. Twilight Town radiates this blueness. Beautiful really. Usually we don't stay out late. Seifer's usually strict when he patrols. Seifer's not so bad sometimes. He is an ass. But he's got good intentions at heart. Well. That's what Olette says. But I believe that. C'mon, he disciplines people...but it's good, he keeps the town in order.

But like I said, right. This place always seems different than...well...any where else. Not like I've really been any where else. I want to go places some day. And then, I'll be somebody. I won't be That Kid Hayner, but I'll just be...Hayner. The Important Guy Who Did Somethin Special. Maybe I'll travel. Travel like Sora. He reminded me of Roxas. Roxas...he just...vanished...left one day and didn't come back. But Sora. He said he was coming back. And maybe, cuz he's so much like Roxas, that means our buddy will come back too. Naw, that's stupid. Suck it up Hayner.

A voice. A sweet voice. Calling from outside. Open the window and look out. "Hayner! Hey! Are you awake?" It's Olette. Hands cupped around her mouth. She sees me. She smiles and she waves. Pence is counting money and replacing it back in Olette's bag. Where do they think we're goin'? I don't wanna go to the beach...Roxas...

_Yeah...I'm awake Olette. No thanks to you two._

Olette. Looks sheepish. Kinda cute. Made her embaressed. Score for Hayner. "Sorry Hayner..."

Don't wanna make her feel BAD about it though..._It's okay Olette, really._ Damn I like saying her name...

Olette. Looks better. "Oh, okay! You coming down?"

What time is it...why the hell did they wake up so early..._Why the hell did you wake up so early?_

Pence. Doesn't look up from counting money. "The beach, what else?"

Thought so. I don't...want to go..._You know guys...I mean...Olette and Pence...I don't feel so up to going to the beach today_.

Pence. Nods. "Okay! We'll go tomorrow then."

_No no...you guys go today. I'm just going to...sleep. Use my ticket munny to buy a watermelon and split it._

Pence. Shrugs. "If you say so. Bye Hayner!" Starts walking away. Don't wait to see what Olette does, her hands on her hips. I leave the window open. Lie back down on the bed. Bury face in pillow. It's light already. Why is it so early...too early...noises outside the house. What is that? A bird? If I had my struggle club I'd whack it...where is my club...outside? Shit...I'll have to look for that later...just sleep now...so...tired...it's cold. The window's open farther. The wind? Naw, how did it do that...? Sit up. See Olette climbing through the window. What the! She falls and lands on my bed. Damn she looks so hot mind is reeling. Rub my eyes. Another stupid dream. Hopefully.

She sits up. She looks at me. Green eyes, watching me. Her hair, across her face. Pretend not to care. Hands behind my head. Lean backwards. Almost fall off the bed. Shit. She looks concerned. When she knows I'm alright. She laughs. _What are you doing?_

Olette. Shakes her head, still giggling. Suddenly serious. "You've got to come Hayner." She grabs my hands. Like she's going to pull me out the window and to the beach with her. Just a normal gesture. She doesn't get it. Her fingers wrap around mine. Feel so stupid in my pajamas. Want to pull her closer. But she'll freak out. Just sit there Hayner, sit there, sit there...

_What does it matter if I don't? I'm tired._ Hide it Hayner. Your voice is squeaking shit I'm talking to myself again...

Olette. Pouts. Can't help it. Looking at her lips. Damnit when I'm tired I can't think at all...not at all... "Please Hayner? You've got to stop moping, come on. Come with us."

Us. Pence and Olette. Together. Can't help it. I say stupid things when I'm sleepy. _You and Pence are together?_

Olette. Looks at me weird. Drops my hands, covers her face. Shakes her head. "No, no, why would you say that? Pence and me are just great friends, you know that." She kicks me. Dang it hurts. Grab my leg, wince. She looks surprised and...worried. Never seen her worried about ME before. Worried bout Pence. Yeah. You've always gotta worry bout Pence, who knows what kinda shit he'll get himself into...

Her. "I'm sorry Hayner sorry sorry, are you okay?" Touches my ankle. I just stare at the top of her head, cuz that's all I can see right now. Won't complain at all. Just want her to touch me. Damn so many bad thoughts about that...wake up Hayner, for your own good...and stop referring to yourself in third person...

_I'm fine_. Did my voice just crack? Yeah it did. She doesn't notice. Least. I think she doesn't. That's good. Already look like a moron.

Olette. "Come _on_. If you keep moping about..." She can't say his name. She won't. "Roxas." Well, guess she did. "You've gotta stop whining, come with us."

_Why would I be whining and moping about **Roxas**? **He's** the one that almost-sort-of ditched us for Seifer. _Jerk away from her.

She. Looks surprised. "He didn't! You know that." Crosses her arms. "Come on, I climbed up the wall for you, aren't you going to come?" She's pouting. Can't resist the pout. None of us can.

_Okay. Okay. Fine. I'll go._ She claps her hands. But she's still sitting there. _Olette._

"Yes?"

Just stare at her. When she's excited, sometimes she doesn't think straight. Like me. When I'm sleepy. _I've got to change_.

"Of course you do, you can't go to the beach in your pajamas, you'll freeze."

She's so sweet when she's confused...can't decide if you just want to slap her for not getting it or just...give her a hug...not like I'm a huggy person. I'm not really. Hugs are wimpy. _Olette..._ She doesn't get it. She just smiles at me. I shrug. I pull of my shirt. She looks at me strangely. Can't tell if it's a bad strange or a good strange. Don't want to waste time and figure out which one, especially if it turns out to be a bad strange. Just never seen that look before. _Olette. I've got to **change**. _She blushes. Hehe.

"Sorry Hayner." She hurries out the window. I change. Smirking the whole time. As I tie my shoes, see something on the table. Pick it up. The photos. Wow. I can say it. Or think it. With Roxas that that thing took. Roxas...we were going to go to the beach...bet Roxas would've liked to go to the beach with us. Yeah...the beach. Pence is calling. He sounds annoyed. We'll buy a melon. With the munny that was going to be Roxas's ticket. The munny we earned after he left. We'll split it for him. We'll give his part to the gulls. He would've liked that.

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	4. Chapter 4

**S**_l_ee**p**i_n_g **_wit_**h _t_h**e** Lig**h**t O_n_

When I told my mom I was going to the beach, it was like being smooshed beneath that big bag we push up the cart…and then she shoved a pouch of munny in my hand. So maybe it wasn't so bad. But then she did the whole…staring…and smiling thing. Pat my head. Like I'm four. I think the last time she did that was…wait…nevermind…

Olette jumped on me when she came out. So I spose that wasn't so bad. Just scared the shit out of me that's all. She seemed happy. Then Pence tried to give me a noogie. Needless to say, that didn't work. We passed Seifer and his gang on the way to the train station. He didn't even make a comment about the bags we were carrying, indicating a day trip to the beach. He waved. Creepy.

Alone on the train now. Alone with my thoughts and the sky whizzing by. Then again. Not entirely alone…right?

Pence. I thought he was sleeping… "So what are we gonna do when we get there?"

Shrug. _Go in the water, maybe?_

Olette. Shakes her head. But I see her smilin. "Very clever Hayner."

_Thanks._

Pence. "So how much munny do we have?" Bah…why won't he just shut up and let the ride pass in peace…it's only a half hour ride…but yet he's always _talking_…constantly. Most o' the time bout things that don't even make sense…

Grunt. _Enough._

Pence. Looks a bit crushed, but hides it well. Geez, I'm not that stupid. "Right. Of course Hayner. I think I'll just walk into the next car. See if there's anybody else, you know? See you too in a bit." Cripes Pence. There's nobody else. It's early.

Lean head back against the chair. Train rumbles. Vibrations shake my head. Close my eyes. Light from the window hits. Hurts a bit. She coughs. Never know if those coughs are supposed to be messages or if she's just…actually coughing. Don't move. Play it cool Hayner, acting like a moron twice in one day isn't gonna help anybody…'specially you.

Olette. Sounds eager. "So, Hayner."

Don't respond.

Few minutes. "Hayner?"

_Yes Olette?_

Her. "Oh. I was just…well…heh, just checking to make sure you were still alive!"

_Ah…_

The train thumps over the tracks. It slows down. The doors slide open. They beep. Nobody gets on. Doors air suction themselves back shut. Train keeps moving. Switches lanes. And now we won't stop again. Steady, rhythmatic. _Thwack. Thwack. Thwack._

Hear her move, shadow cross over eyes. Feel her sit down next to me, arm brushes against mine. Hairs bristle, feel nervous as fuck. But I've got this, I've got this…

Turn head. Slightly. Crack open eyes. Can see her. Those beautiful eyes, those sparkling eyes…some guy is gonna see those eyes…and she's gonna want that guy, and those eyes will shine for him, and he'll hold her and he'll wipe the tears away and she'll be sittin next to him on a train to the beach…

Her head is tilted towards mine, face looking into mine. Try to seem unconcerned. But can't help looking at her. Not even admiring her. Just…a trance.

She. Starts to say something. Changes her mind. Mouth closes. Those pink lips tilt in a small smile. I return it. The edges of her eyes crinkle and the smile grows a little. That's good.

Train. Steadying itself. Gettin on the smooth tracks. Gentle now. Really not so loud. Like a mechanical lullaby (why can't I think shit like that up in writing class…) _Thwmm… … Thwmm… … Thwmm…_

Olette. Leans her head on my shoulder. Damn…that feels nice…nestles her head between my shoulder and my neck. Wonder why she's so comfortable with doing that…oh right…cuz we're some of the best buddies ever…shit… "Hayner…" Her mouth moves and I can feel her chin moving on my shoulder. Smooth…warm…

_Yeah?_

Turns her head up to look at me. So great…lookin at her like this…remember this Hayner, remember remember it's all you'll ever get… "We're going to have fun today, right?"

Grin. _'Course we are._

Looks pleased. "Good. I'm going to find Pence, okay? It's been awhile." Gets up. Watch her hips sway as she moves through the train, taking careful steps and gripping empty chairs.

Ouch. Feel something digging into my side. But don't want to move, case she comes back and she wants to get right back in that position…Hayner, you loser…dig around in the pocket. Heck this looks familiar…oh right…

This little glass orb. Blinding when it hits the sun. Was wondering where this went.


End file.
